Air France has unveiled its new first class. The cabin will still be 1-2-1, so not a wider seat, but a longer one. The seat extends five cabin windows rather than the current four, offering a “seat and a chaise longue that converts to a true two-meter-long bed.”
Credit: Air France
Credit: Air France
Credit: Air France
There won’t be doors. Instead, like the current seat, there’s a privacy curtain for the seat. What’s nice is that the center seats feature a “full-height, electric sliding partition” for total separation or allow passengers to more fully travel together.
They’ve removed overhead bins from the cabin – something other carriers do in first class, as well, to create a more spacious feel. For storage there’s a sliding drawer that holds carry-ons, a drawer for footwear, and a compartment for personal items and a wardrobe.
Credit: Air France
It looks to be a lovely product, and demonstrates a continued commitment to the first cabin (which was never in doubt with Air France). It’s more evolution than revolution. I will absolutely love flying it, should I get the opportunity. But I’m a little perplexed by the enthusiasm of One Mile at a Time, “over three years in the making…will no doubt lead the industry for the next decade.”
Air France La Premiere is elevating commercial aviation..What’s so special is that this incredible hard product complements an already very impressive soft product, which starts before you even arrive at the airport.
Yet the best part of the Air France first class experience is what isn’t changing – the first class lounge in Paris, the chauffeur service to and from the plane, clearing immigration enroute to the lounge on arrival in France. In fact, the video promoting the new product highlights the first class journey rather than the seat as such.
The product will be offered on a subset of Air France’s Boeing 777-300ERs, though we don’t know how many planes will receive it. It should launch on Paris – New York JFK this spring, followed by Los Angeles, Singapore and Tokyo Haneda over the summer. Other current markets with first class include Abidjan; Dubai; Miami; San Francisco; Sao Paulo; and Washington Dulles. Mileage awards in first class are limited to Flying Blue Platinum members and higher.
My own sense is that I will prefer Emirates’ new first class as well as the new Airbus A350 Japan Airlines first class, and somewhat more controversially the Singapore Airlines A380 Suites. However I consider Air France first class to be a world’s top 5 first class product today, and this should be an improvement.
Has Air France broken out how its first class cabin performs for it financially compared to business and premium economy?
Is this more of a halo effect offering to run up brand value and affiliated premium than a direct financial winner for the airline absent the halo effect?
I think Air France also flies first-class to Mexico City. Or they did.
Of course, the problem with Air France having first-class (and such a stellar first-class) is the business-class product is mixed. Yes, the food and wine are great. Yes, the seat is good to very good. But the business-class bedding isn’t that competitive and the airline also lacks business-class-only lounges, which is somewhat of an issue. Air France’s business-class is marginally better than Delta but hardly industry-leading.
The seats are all relatively the same. The way first class experiences differentiate themselves IMO is on the ground and making travel suck less/be more like private travel.
I fly private 3-5x per year … hardly all the time, but enough to know what it feels like.
AF is by FAR the closest I’ve ever felt to flying private. Not only is the experience in Paris seamless, but they do more than other carriers at outstations as well (admittedly easier when they don’t have nearly the first class footprint of some other airlines). They have dedicated F check in which is roped off, you get walked to the front of TSA line, walked to the lounge, they ask when you want to board (first or last), then there’s a separate jet bridge just for F, etc. Other than in the lounge at the outstation, I don’t think I saw a non-F passenger until I boarded my intra-Europe connecting flight.
Contrast that to something like LH or EK where you show up, the first class check in agent is probably assisting business class pax because nobody was in their line, you check in and then go get in TSA line, walk to the lounge, maybe there’s an F section and maybe there’s not, *if* there’s a boarding call it’s just everyone together, and then you probably board with all premium pax. .
BA kept its A380 and has its First Wing. Otherwise, I really do prefer AF in whatever class, in most all aspects of the flight experience, among all European and UK airlines. Thanks for la Première review!
Seems like the perfect way to fly commercial if money is no object. And a ridiculous indulgence for most people who do have some financial constraints.
I wouldn’t recommend it. When Air France oversells its upgraded cabin, they reach into their passenger list and choose someone to bump, instead of the industry standard of bumping whomever does not yet have a seat assignment. Happened to me last month in Barcelona; when I questioned how I was given a boarding pass an hour before, and then removed to a middle seat in back, the agent I was speaking to started shouting, “it’s legal!”
If I’m ever in that situation again, I’m going to refuse to travel and insist that my suitcase be offloaded before they leave.
Justin, have they been able to do anything to help with the arrival experience, either in Paris or at the outstations?
They only show how seamless it is when departing.
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT DEREK!! ?
Looks really nice. Probably can never afford this. It’s like $10K/way minimum. Business lie-flat, new suites with the door are just fine, good enough.
It’s their older 777 that I have nightmares of (2-3-2 configuration, broken seats that should be lie-flat but are not). AF often sticks some of those random ones to Africa and it really ruins the trip, even in Business Class.
One other gripe, no matter the airport, if it’s AF, they always seem to start boarding on-time, but then have you wait on the jet bridge for an hour. Has anyone else experienced this? I think it is indeed ‘a thing’–the champagne does make it all a little better, though.
@Derek McGillicuddy — Oof. The ‘bumping’ is real issue–they’re supposed to compensate handily for this, but often do fight it. And unfortunately, EU261 is not applicable, as it a different matter. Still, usually, EU laws are more consumer friendly. APPR (Canada) is more robust for this. It’s always interesting when the fight technically isn’t oversold, but the cabin is, because an aircraft change or something. Very frustrating when it happens to you.
The curtain is so much classier than a door and the 5 windows are superb. This is a fun product.
@ Justin — So, you already the private seats are crap compared to commercial F.
I’d rather the real estate used for sliding luggage closets be allocated instead to a wider seat/bed. I really don’t get the big draw of removing overhead bins. Just for a “feeling”? You know wha makes a suite “feel” bigger? A bigger seat.
@Mantis — We don’t often agree on here, but you’re right about the wider seat. Not that either of us are likely to be flying La Premier anytime soon, unless you’re one of those readers with 8-figures that Gary referenced in his latest [Roundup]—if you know, you know.
Thanks to Air France for using the correct name for that kind of chair – “chaise longue”
which, when translated to English, is “long chair” which is actually what that kind of chair is. Americans bastardize it to “chaise ‘lounge'” since they don’t understand French and because they think that because they “lounge” in that kind of chair, that’s what it is. No, it’s “chaise longue” but expecting this to be corrected, now that the mistaken version is in common use, is futile. Yes, thankfully, I had a mean and picky English teacher in high school.
These look really nice! I’ll be honest, I read “Chase Lounge” at first, not “chaise longue”.
Thanks for the French lesson @carletonm, interesting.
Not one red cent for tribute.
Great review. I find the new F class product still elegant but underwhelming by the looks of it. I was very surprised by the rather overglorification of AF’s new F class seat by OMAT. Will I still want to experience it. Most probably yes if its offered at some point on CDG-DXB or a West African sector.
I can’t stand doors in F or J. It feels like flying in an open casket and inevitably the door clangs and rattles around. That said this F looks almost identical to the previous iteration and I half expected swings…
Reminds me of a roomette on Amtrak…..and you actually see the people out the window along the route.
I don’t quite understand the hype behind AF’s FC. I flew Business on AF from CDG-JFK and was very keen to buy an upgrade but couldn’t, given the 1st cabin was sold out on that 777-300. I boarded early and walked into the 1st cabin and saw tired seats, worn carpeting, seats slightly bigger but not much better looking than my Biz seat, no suite, frankly nothing to indicate the paid upgrade (had I got it) would have been worth the extra $$s.
I have flown 136 international First Class flights on 35 different airlines – a lot of then not offering first class any more some merged and some gone defunct. Most were on Asian and ME airlines. While Cathay (always exceptional food – best soup I ever had on board and in general and always awesome dan dan noodles on the ground and full size bath at HKG lounge), ANA (staff attention), JAL (Suntory and Yamazaki 17, 21yo whiskey), Emirates (showers – and funnily enough I got a tour of the whole A380 plane on my first FC flight – including seeing fake bars from economy to upper deck – like we were on a Titanic), Jet Airways (loved the starts on the ceiling that shined at night like you were flying under the stars), Malaysian (I flew with the King and his family so crew was exceptionally professional but lacked personal touch), Thai Airways (my first FC experience ever on NRT route – at BKK they’d take you by hand before you entered the airport, didn’t have to do anything since, they ‘d buggy you around, full massage, showers in the lounge, staff that if you blink would come appear like a genie to serve you whatever you wanted in a private room, you’d use diplomatic passport control – best AC redemption ever 50K for return flights – did that 1/2 dozen times) – the winner goes to Air France on a short flight from Singapore to Jakarta where I was a single passenger in First, where the two flight attendants were so genuinely happy to talk to me, genuine smiles and laughs not just trained professionalism but it felt like a different era. They’d serve drinks and food in the same manner. And unlike other airlines when they usually have just on FA in charge of you both of them seemed eager to just hang around and keep me company if I wanted to. They even gave me a gift at the end of the flight and no, I don’t look like Clooney soo. For me on board, that was the most memorable experience.
That’s why in my ranking AF will remain #1 – maybe until the next crew ruins everything 🙂
Note: Singapore 777 seats were not long enough and nobody greeted me in DEL for my connection, lounge looks great but not a single place with a footrest.
Qatar had a nice jacuzzi in the lounge but you had to share it – seats were OK but staff lacked warmth.
Etihad – for me worst ME airline though I never had a chance to fly Residence. Chef is misnomer – it’s just a crew member in white uniform.
Memorable mention – Swiss lounge served by far the best stake tartare I ever had.
To be avoided – AA, UA though they don’t have FC any more. In my mind they never had. I had FA pour whiskey over her fingers into my glass on AA. I don’t expect her to know how to hold a bottle but this was too much. Lufthansa – they just don’t know how think like not Germans. When I flew then they had a metal bar at the position of the knees so you could not sleep on the side but on your back with the metal bar underneath your seats. For that I give them 0. I think even new seats are narrow enough as they put the seat next to bed. BA (I have taken 40 of those) – insufferable crew. Made me once fill 4 page questionnaire to get Panadol/Tylenol. Made my headache 10 times worse and in the end she didn’t even read it. I could have said Panadol will make me die and she’d still give it to me as long as you fill in the form. There is no longer a difference between first and biz so don’t waste your money/points.
Qantas – most overcrowded FC.
All 3 Chinese airlines – crew was clueless – only China Southern brought me chopsticks except just fork assuming I didn’t know how to use them. They other two were – oh you know how to use them?
The rest were very forgettable.
Well, thank you for sharing your views. So funny to meet you here , I laughed a lot reading Observer.
( I also flew many times and many years and my stories only tell about économy class !) so Great !!